Engle Byen A Place to Call Home Page 4

  Hmmm… the weather… every day?

  “Darling, you do have a lovely life here and I’m so glad to be in it, but you’ll have to leave sometime, right?”

  “No, Gabriella, happy to stay in this town and even probably retire here. Unless you want to get rid of me?” I laugh. “But right now, I gotta get ready and head off to work, later dear.”

  ***

  Not long into my shift, I called by Miss Duffy’s room.

  Angela Duffy is a dear lady, I have a lot of time for her. When it’s quiet on the ward I will often have a chat with her. Miss Duffy has a sister who lives interstate but is too old and frail to visit, which is a shame, as she has no other family, was never married and has no children. She shares her ward with three other beds, all empty at the moment. A hospital room is quite a depressing environment to spend your last days in so often I’ll buy some flowers for her to brighten up the room, the warm smile she gives me makes it all worthwhile.

  “Oh, nurse Michael, would you be so kind as to pour me a glass of water, you know in my frail condition that water jug is just too heavy for me to lift.”

  “No worries, Miss Duffy, there you go,” I said cheerfully as I filled up her glass with some water. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Nurse Michael, you know I am not long for this world. Well, I did have my 80th birthday not long ago so I made it this far, but the one regret I have is that I never married or had children. I guess I just couldn’t find the right man or he couldn’t find me,” she chuckled.

  “Who would have thought that, as I lay on my death bed, I meet the most perfect man ever? Oh, Nurse Michael, he is so handsome, smart and really funny. We laugh a lot, he has made me so happy and dare I say it...” Miss Duffy beckons me closer and whispers in my ear, “he has even proposed to me and, of course, I have accepted! Now I will have no regrets when I finally pass.”

  “Wow, um... congrats, that’s great Miss Duffy, tell me more.” I was a little surprised.

  “Well, I was here in my bed reading the newspaper and he came up and asked me if there was anything I needed. When I looked up from the newspaper I noticed his kindly baby blue eyes and how he looked at me so lovingly, so caring. He smiled such a sweet smile; he has movie star looks, lots of beautiful silver hair parted to the side and beautiful wrinkles in all the right places. I thought I must’ve dozed off and dreamt him up, but no, he stood there just like you are now.

  “He asked what my biggest regret was and I said that I never married; he said he would be honoured to grant me his hand in marriage as my dying wish. He proposed to me as I lie here on my death bed, I was so overcome with his kindness and generosity so, of course, I accepted. He knows I don’t have much money and he said he wasn’t interested in what little assets I have. All he said he wanted was to be my soul mate, all he wanted was my soul. Such a sweet, loving, kind man. So I said, yes, my darling, you can have my soul, we will be soul mates, I love you. After that, he said he was so looking forward to making me his and that he will be back for me really soon. I just hope I don’t die before he comes back.”

  “Miss Duffy that sounds so very romantic, he will give you a reason to hold on to life as long as you can, to enjoy the happiness that has eluded you for so long. I am so very happy for you.”

  I did shed a little tear of joy for Miss Duffy. She is such a lovely woman. Patients like her make my job a joy but I try not to get too close to the palliative patients as the pain when they pass really upsets me.

  “Sounds like a dreamboat, Miss Duffy, I look forward to meeting him.”

  “Oh dear, you already know him, he works here as an orderly, his name is Jacob.” I started laughing; the silly old dear has obviously confused the names.

  “Here’s your meds, Miss Duffy, be sure to take them,” I said, smiling and continued along with my duties.

  Chapter Twelve

  As I lay in bed thinking about the new day unfolding, about Jacob and what my next move will be, I hear light footsteps heading up the stairs to the front door. Having a bedroom at the front of the house means I hear everything that is going on outside in my street. The footsteps then retreat away from the front door.

  I get out of bed and make my way to the window, ever so carefully lifting a slat of the wooden venetian blind just a little and look out into the front yard, but can’t see anyone outside. I go to the front door and slowly open it to see a blood red rose and a small card on my doormat. I reach over and pick them up.

  The card reads: “Meet me at the beach 1 pm today – Jacob.”

  I still felt guilty over the way he stormed out of my house the other night when I had a little meltdown just as things were getting steamy between us. I guess he is giving me a second chance, oh, hang on, it was him pursuing me, but I guess I did give into temptation just a little; well just a taste and no harm done.

  Why is it I keep resisting his charms and constant sexual advances? I still can't quite determine why I won't allow myself to succumb to his charms. I sense there is something dark and dangerous about him and that if I give into his darkness I could be in some kind of serious danger. I do love to flirt with danger, it’s sexy and exciting, perhaps that’s why I continue to see him. No, hang on, it’s him who keeps seeking me out. At least with this invitation to the beach, I get a choice. The day looks to be another fine warm and sunny one, so yes, sexy Jacob, I will accept your invitation. Now, what to wear?

  * * *

  I drive down to the beach to the same location where we met last time, I gather this is where we are supposed to meet. It’s 1.03pm; I can’t see him so I sit on the bench seat overlooking the wide expanse of sand and watch the waves in the distance as I wait. Being a weekday, no one else is around so he should be easy enough to spot. In the distance I see something shining brightly, it’s coming from the sand dunes, which intrigues me. I look around, still no sign of Jacob, so I take off my flip-flops and walk over the soft warm sand that slightly squeaks beneath my feet as I head towards the shiny object.

  I’m closing in on this bright curious object that shines like a diamond in the sand when a head wearing a cap and sunglasses pops up and yells out, “Over here mate!”

  Oh, there he is, but what’s that shining object with him?

  Closing in on Jacob I focus on the now blinding light in front of me, eventually, I am able to see it. A silver champagne tub full of ice and a bottle of champagne!

  “What’s all this then?” I ask Jacob in a very surprised manner. He stands up wearing only black swimming briefs, takes a few steps towards me and greets me with a kiss on the lips and a hug.

  “Come over here, I have a surprise for you.”

  As I approach I see a large blanket on the sand and all types of yummy goodness on display; gourmet cheeses, strawberries and, of course, the champagne.

  “Wow, you really have gone all out, Jacob, I’m confused as well as impressed.”

  “Well…” Jacob started, “I guess you are the kind of guy that responds to romance, not the overt sexual come-ons that I’ve tried. I really, really like you Michael and want to have you in my life as more than just a friend.” I intentionally don’t respond to him. I fell silent for a while trying to process what was happening, I didn’t expect anything like this.

  “Wow, all my favourite things. How did you know?”

  “Sit, sit,” he motions me to the picnic rug.

  I sit down as he hands me a glass of bubbles and a plate of the gorgeous nibbles he has prepared. We engage in some small talk while we eat and drink.

  “Let’s go for a dip!” Jacob said quite excitedly. I peel off my t-shirt and shorts, luckily, I have swimming briefs on underneath and we run off to the edge of the water. I stand in the sea at ankle height, “It’s too cold!” I yell. Jacob comes up behind me.

  “Don’t be a pussy.” He picks me up with his strong arms, takes a few steps into the water and drops me in it. We walk out a bit further; the water isn’t as cold now. We jump up in the air with each co
ming wave. Jacob grabs my arm and pulls me in close to him as he kisses me deeply; all I can taste is salt as I feel his tongue swirling around in my mouth.

  Everything goes dark, I can’t breathe, I feel pressure on my head. Silence. I hear very faint music. I break the surface of the water gasping for air, coughing and spitting salty water out of my mouth.

  “What the hell!” I yell as I violently break free of Jacob’s grip and swiftly make my way out of the water to the shore. I sit on the water’s edge, waves gently lapping at my feet, as I continue to cough and spit water out of my mouth.

  Jacob strode out of the water quickly and knelt down next to me. “Are you alright?” he said in a most concerned voice.

  “You tried to fucking drown me. How do you think I feel?”

  Jacob attempts to comfort me by putting his arm around me and I push it away. “Fucking murderer, keep away from me!” My emotions are all over the place. I was so happy and then he attempts to drown me, I begin to sob uncontrollably.

  “Michael, what are you talking about? I just saved your life, you had one of your blackouts and I pulled you up out of the water.”

  “You did?” I always see the best in people, so Jacobs’s response made sense. Lately, it seems I often suffer from blackouts, the first time I had one was when I first met Jacob, it was outside my house, I embarrassingly had one right in front of him and I thought it was just because I couldn’t believe how good looking he was; the man of my dreams. Since then though, I have had a few others in front of some of my neighbours, luckily, they have been there to look after me.

  "I'd never hurt you, Michael, I'm falling in love with you,” Jacob said while gently brushing the wet hair off my face.

  I allowed him to gently engulf me with his muscular arms while we sat on the water’s edge, the feeling of being in his arms felt good, safe. I began to get my emotions under control and realised what he just said, he was falling in love with me! I began to sob again, my head was spinning, all these emotions confused me, I couldn’t make sense of what had just unfolded.

  Focus Michael, calm down and breathe, that’s it, calm, calm. I got my emotions back in order. Covered in sand, we both stood up, Jacob took my hand and led me back into the water to wash the sand off, then returned to our spot on the beach.

  “I didn’t bring a towel with me Jacob; I didn’t know we were going into the water.”

  “No worries, Mikey, I’ve taken care of that.” Mikey, he called me Mikey; he is beginning to call me Mikey. I was still racking my brain trying to think of who used to call me that. Oh well, doesn’t matter.

  “Does that mean I am going to be calling you Jakey?” I ask in a playful manner.

  “You can if you want, Mikey.”

  "No, I don't actually, I like the name, Jacob," I responded.

  Jacob rubbed his lightly whiskered cheek into mine and we kissed. From that moment I began to feel something for Jacob, I had a new understanding for him, I saw his gentle and caring side, he cared for me and I felt it, I really felt it today.

  After we towel dried ourselves Jacob handed me a container of coconut oil sunscreen, “Would you mind oiling me up?” He grins at me.

  Both standing, I put some oil in my hand and began rubbing it into his chest, those lightly hairy pectoral muscles, so hard and strong. I move down to his flat stomach with a hint of abdominal muscles beginning to show and am tempted to move my hand down into his bathing briefs but stop just at the top of them and notice the growing size of the organ within. I get down on my knees and put some more coconut oil in my hand and begin to rub the oil up and down those strong muscular legs. Right in my line of sight is a very impressive package.

  “Is that a pistol in your bathers?” I ask playfully.

  “Yes, and it’s fully loaded and ready to shoot on command,” he laughed. “Your turn,” Jacob says as he reaches down for the container of coconut oil. I feel his large masculine hands rubbing the oil over my chest, so strong and powerful, the very hands that just saved my life. Or did they?

  His hands made their way down my stomach and I couldn’t try and stop the excitement growing in my bathers. I could feel the abundant amount of sexual tension in the air; I was having slight heart palpitations and shortness of breath. I jump a little as Jacob’s hand reaches into my bathers and holds my girth, his hand then slowly comes out as he gets down on his knees and rubs the oil up and down my legs lingering around my crotch area.

  “Lie down,” he commands. I submit to his strong powerful voice. I feel like the master has spoken and I must obey, I lie down on my stomach.

  Jacob straddles me and pours some oil on my back. He rubs it in circles over my shoulders gently and deeply massaging my still sore shoulder blades but much more sensually than Viktor, my massage therapist does. He goes into my shoulder blades quite deeply with his fingers and thumb, transfixed on that particular area.

  "Ouch, that hurts,” I squeal as I feel something pop.

  “Sorry. How are you feeling?”

  “Amazing! You are certainly experienced at this.” I say in a totally relaxed manner.

  I feel like I am floating on clouds, after my horrific recent near-death experience in the ocean and being saved by my hero who is now transporting me into another realm with his magic hands. His hands move down to my lower back, suddenly he pulls my bathers down exposing my lily-white butt to the world, pours some more oil on my lower back allowing it to trickle down in between my butt cheeks. He firmly kneads my butt cheeks one at a time.

  I’m still in a state of ecstasy and I know where this is heading. I think to myself, ‘Will I let him go there or not? The beach has been deserted since we have been here and he did save my life, my new-found affection for him has forced me to let down my guard.’

  ‘What about all those warnings my neighbours gave me about him, they never did go into details and Jacob is a lovely guy, he obviously cares for me, I can feel it, and those feelings I had about something not being quite right about him seem to have diminished today.’

  Oh Michael, you always over think things! I snap my mind back into focus as I feel Jacob’s manhood still encased in the light nylon of his bathing suit rubbing up and down against my butt. Oh shit, this is it; he’s going to do me right here and now! I’m in such a state of euphoria that I will grant permission for him to pound me into submission; I am his for the taking.

  “Hei der du sexy gutter!” A loud voice from afar interrupts Jacob’s impending possession of me. “Or as you say in English, hey there you sexy boys!” I look up over the sand dune and see Viktor heading our way as Jacob moves off me.

  Viktor walks closer to us, he stops and stands completely still realising he has interrupted us and looks away. “So sorry boys, don’t mind me, I’m from Norway you know, very liberated, no inhibitions, you can just carry on and I will walk away now.” Moment ruined.

  “It’s OK, Viktor,” I say as I pull up my bathers. Viktor takes the extra few steps to reach our little spot on the beach.

  “Boys, nice to see you,” Viktor says in that gorgeous accent.

  “You too, Viktor, I must book another appointment with you soon, my shoulders have been hurting a bit lately, you do such a good job in relieving the pain. So does Jacob actually, he just gave me a nice rub down. Oh, have you two met?”

  “Yes,” said Viktor.

  “No,” said Jacob.

  “Huh?” I was confused. Did they or didn’t they know each other? Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jacob give Viktor a death stare, a stare that chilled me to the bone like another person was inside Jacob, someone evil.

  “What brings you to this very sand dune Viktor, surely you can’t see us from all the way over there on the foreshore?”

  “I was at the park on the foreshore doing my usual yoga routine when I spotted something bright and blindingly shiny, I just had to check it out and here I find you two ummm… getting to know each other.”

  Jacob picked up a towel, throwing it over the champa
gne bucket. I looked at the dried up remains of our gourmet goodies and the empty champagne bottle.

  “I’d ask you to join us Viktor, but there’s nothing left, sorry,” I said regretfully.

  “That’s OK Michael, I’m drawn to all things bright and shiny so just had to make my way over here to investigate, hope to see you again soon, bye bye.” Viktor walked off into the distance back towards the park.

  “I’m getting a bit sunburnt Jacob, let’s head back,” I said as I rolled up the towels.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I have been summoned over to Muriel’s house to give her a hand with a few odd jobs. Fluffy greets me in the usual way by jumping all over me as I make my way to her front door.

  “Yoo-hoo, only me,” I yell out as I walk into her house.

  “I’m in the kitchen darling, come on in!” she yells back at me.

  “Coffee, my sweet?”

  “Yes please,” I reply enthusiastically, “I’m feeling a bit tired this afternoon and a gorgeous plunger coffee will hit the spot perfectly. Do you have any cake?”

  “Oh Michael, you eat cake? With that body, you don’t want to end up with a spare tyre, but then again, I do have plenty of work for you today so you can work it off.” She giggles.

  “So, what’s all the goss, how're things at work, have you seen Jacob around lately? I’m sure he will be after you, that hideous creature.”

  “Slow down, Muriel, so many questions,” I said as I sipped on my coffee. “Work is fine, oh and to answer the second part of your question, Jacob has started working at the hospital as an orderly. It was a surprise to me; I bumped into him in the locker room. Seems everywhere I go he’s turning up; I guess that's what happens in a small town unless he's a stalker? Is that why you warned me off him?”